


The Evil Queen's Curse

by gusenitsa, xhookswenchx (ReluctantPrincess)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Curses, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-30 22:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12118521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gusenitsa/pseuds/gusenitsa, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReluctantPrincess/pseuds/xhookswenchx
Summary: So @gusenitsaa started this up awhile back and realized we hadn’t posted it yet! Anyway, here is a canon divergent fic where Regina’s evil half casts a curse! CS wakes up in the home they share... but with S2 memories. (Based on the @askoncerp au week with the same name.)





	1. Chapter 1

When he woke he shot to his feet so quickly his head spun and he stumbled back against the stone pillar for support.  At least, he tried to.  What he actually did was fall back with a cry of surprise because the stone pillar he’d been chained to only moments ago had apparently vanished.  

He landed on his back with a thud that knocked the breath out of him and looked around.  The cavern and all its glittering treasures were gone.  He raised his arm above his head where moments ago a chain had bound him fast to the giant’s lair.  Also gone.  Not even so much as a red burn where he had tried and failed to pull himself loose.  

He sat up and looked around tentatively.  He was in a bright room, sunlight streamed in from the windows, a large bed and a neat desk with a few papers and little else.  He glanced into the closet and what he saw brought him to his feet in a moment.  The closet was filled with his own clothing.  Not all of it,  but a few vests, a jacket or two…  

How the hell had his stuff gotten _here_?  Wherever here was.  

He opened the door and made his way down the stairs, trying to find some point of familiarity to explain this-   he stopped,  his interest suddenly captured by a large door with a very intricate lock.  He moved closer,  drawn irresistibly to the promise of something worth protecting beyond.

“Hey! What do you think you're doing in my house? How did you even get here?”  He turned around to see, of all people,   _her._ The Swan girl. She was unarmed this time,  but she still held herself as though she held a blade and he smiled in spite of himself.  

* * *

“I don’t suppose you would believe… lost fisherman?” he commented dryly as she hurried down the stairs toward him.

“I don’t suppose you’d like me to tie you to a tree again?  We could introduce you to some ogres from this realm. It’ll be fun…for me.”

“You _would_ enjoy that wouldn’t you, love?” he drawled. “Tell me though,  if you are so certain that this is indeed your home,  why are all my possessions in the bedroom? If you’d wanted a closer look you need only have asked.”

“Oh, so those red leather jackets belong to you?” she retorted. “I thought you were more of a black leather type of guy.  Here’s a thought. You somehow made it to Storybrooke, and snuck your things into my house in some weird attempt to squat here.”

“And why would I wish to stay with a lass who betrayed me on our last parting?” he asked.  “A lass who used me to get what she wanted and left me to die for the crime of being of assistance to her?  And they call _me_ a pirate.”  He watched her carefully for a response and he was rewarded by her looking down.  “I’ve no idea how the bloody hell I got here, or why Cora did not take my life after you abandoned me at the top of that beanstalk,  but I do know that you are hardly the one I would seek out for asylum in a strange land.”  

Emma looked up again, her eyes fiery. “I did not leave you to die. Besides, you were working with Cora! Did you really expect me to believe that you wouldn’t double cross me?”

“No,  I suppose I should not have expected you to trust the word of a pirate.” A self-deprecating smile crossed his lips and was gone before she was even sure that she’d seen it.  “But you never answered my question.  I think you knew that I had not told you a lie.  You left anyway.”  Her gaze fell again. “But that hardly matters now, does it? I will leave your landlocked home unmolested.  My business here is not with you.”

“Where are you going?”

“You know who it is I seek, and you know why.”

Her cell phone rang and she jumped to answer it. Hook looked at her as though she’d sprouted a second head when she put the phone to her ear to talk to Henry.  

 _“Hey Kid, you okay?”_ Killian moved closer to hear,  finally grasping that the small voice coming from her palm must belong to her child. Emma pushed a button and smirked when Hook jumped at the suddenly louder voice of a boy.  

_“I’m fine.  Look… Please don’t freak out- but there’s been another curse.  What do you remember?”_

“A curse… of course there is.” Emma grumbled.  “I… um I remember getting back from the enchanted forest?”

 _“Oh boy… you haven’t killed Hook yet, have you?”_ Henry asked.

“No, I -  how did you know Hook was here?”

_“You’re not gonna like it mom. Promise not to freak out?”_

“Stop telling me not to freak out, kid, or I’m gonna freak out.”

_“You sort of… live with him now.”_

Her jaw dropped and Hook’s eyebrows shot up,  too surprised to even smirk at her.  

“ _Mom… Hey,  mom?”_

“Yeah I um… So, I have a pirate roommate-” she glanced at Hook who had finally gathered enough composure to smirk.  “Kid, are you sure?  How do you know all this?”

_“I think the Evil Queen messed with people’s memories this time.  But she seems to have left me alone mostly.  I think she’s hoping everything else will fall apart and I’ll have no choice but to turn to her.”_

“The evil queen- Regina is-”

_“Not Regina. Look mom, there’s a lot and I know it sounds crazy but can you guys just wait there? I’ll be there in a sec and I can explain whatever you want, okay?”_

_“Okay,_ kid _,  see you soon.”_ Emma hit a button and for a few moments they stood in silence.  Hook opened his mouth to speak and Emma shot a glare at him. He thought better of it.   

“We don’t know that his memories haven’t been altered too,” she finally said.  “I mean this… this is obviously insane.”

“Clearly,” Hook agreed. “Well, you enjoy your chat with your lad, Swan.  I’ve business-”

“Wait… maybe you shouldn’t rush into this. Hear me out, okay? There’s magic here, and for some reason, I really don’t want Gold to incinerate you on sight. We need a plan that isn’t completely insane.”

“You worried for me, love?  How touching.”

“Don’t read too much into it,” she grumbled. “I’m the sheriff, and it’s kind of a one person show.  I really don’t want to be the one stuck cleaning up that crime scene.” Her hand darted to a chain around her neck and fidgeted with it while she considered what she had heard.

Hook’s eyebrows furrowed and he reached towards her,  hesitatingly.  “That chain… may I… May I see it.”

Emma glanced down in confusion as though she hadn’t truly realized it was there and pulled a ring from below her shirt.  She glanced up at Hook in confusion but he was staring at it, hand still half raised as though frozen in place.  

“That… belonged to someone I knew long ago.  It’s no mere trinket that I might have misplaced or allowed someone to take from me.”

She pulled away defensively,  “I…I didn’t _take_ it.  If it’s yours, you can have it back.”

“No. No, I don’t think you took it, It has little value to anyone save myself but- But keep it.  It… suits you. I’ve more rings than I have fingers anyway.”

“It’s obviously important to you, Killian-”

“Would it surprise you to know how many years it has been since I’ve been called Killian?” He lifted the ring on its chain gently to examine it as he spoke, for once seemingly unaware of how close he had moved to her. ”Most call me Captain,  some call me Hook and a few have called me things that sent them to the depths… but none have surprised me so much as hearing my own name from you.”  He glanced up, seeming to remember her presence suddenly and a sheepish expression flickered through his eyes for a moment as he released his grip on the ring.  

“I can’t take it from you,” Emma whispered.  

“Tell me love,  would you keep it safe for me?” The pirate smiled, a mask falling snuggly into place that somehow... made her feel sad. “I won’t likely need it for much longer and I’ve no one else to care for it.  For some reason it brings me pleasure to know that you carry it.”

Without thinking she reached for him; closing her fingers around the smooth leather of his jacket she dragged his lips to hers.  He seemed momentarily stunned into stillness and Emma pressed her advantage. He stumbled back a step or two under her onslaught until his back hit the handle of the refrigerator.  The jolt seemed to bring him back to himself because suddenly he was pushing back, his fingers tugging through her hair and his lips seeking more- more- more-  When she finally pulled away, just enough to breathe, he let out a surprised breath and raised an eyebrow at her.

“No tripwire this time, Swan?” he teased.

“No…”  with a rapid movement she snapped the cuff closed on his wrist and jumped back a step.  He tugged against it in an attempt to follow her and found that she had already locked the other side to something behind him while he had been distracted.  She watched realization, exasperation, betrayal and anger flash through his eyes in the space of a moment. “Killian…I’m sorry. But I can’t let you go after Gold.”  

“You’re protecting _him_?”  he asked and when he looked up at her his eyes were dark and dangerous and she had to steel herself against the urge to back up another step or two. “Don’t do this to me again. Swan, you know what he is,  you know what he’s done.”

“I’m not protecting _him._ I’m protecting _you._ He has magic,  you’ve got one hand.  You go after him and you’ll be dead and he’ll still be running around town.  Is that really your master plan?”   She was babbling and she knew it, but her pleas had no effect on the ice in his eyes as he strained against the shackle,  testing its strength.  

“Your concern is touching, Swan,  but I have survived curses and storms, sea-monsters and the demon child of Neverland. I assure you that my ‘ _master plan_ ’ does not involve leaving Rumplestiltskin free to gloat over my corpse.”

“Maybe if you’d share your master plan with me, I’d feel a little more comfortable with turning you loose?“ She tried a slightly flirtatious smile but he just raised his eyebrows at her.  “Until then, I guess we’re at a stalemate.”

There was the sound of a door slamming and a boy’s voice called from the doorway.  “Hey Mom! You’re not going to believe what Zelena-” Henry paused, taking in the scene for a moment before a small smile crossed his face.  “Mom… why do you have Hook handcuffed to the refrigerator?”

“It was either that or let him go after Gold.  I improvised.” She turned to Hook again- “Look I’m sorry but I’ve got to…  Just stay here,  I’ll figure this out.”

“Apparently I have no choice but to comply.”  

His words made something twist uncomfortably in her stomach but she turned to Henry, leading him to the couch.  Far enough away to get some privacy but not far enough that she couldn’t keep an eye on the fuming pirate in her kitchen.  

“I’m glad you’re okay, kid,  you wanna tell me what’s going on?”  

“I think it’s the Evil Queen,  a curse or a spell or something.  No one remembers anything that’s happened lately except me.”

Emma sighed. There was a headache starting to form and the lack of answers wasn’t helping. “Come on kid, I need solutions before the pirate chained to my fridge tries to escape.” Henry looked as if he wanted to say something, but he hesitated. She knew that meant it was probably something she wouldn't like. “Just give me the bad news.”

“Well… remember earlier when I said you and Hook lived together?” he asked. Emma gestured for him to continue. “You're actually… together.”

“Together?” Hook called, a note of disbelief in his voice. Of _course_ he heard that.

Emma rolled her eyes. “I don't have time for-”

“I mean it, mom,” Henry interrupted. “You guys are true love! The real deal.”

She glanced towards the kitchen at her captive, who gave her a flirtatious smile. He likely had an innuendo ready to go as well, but she shot him a look, and he kept his mouth shut. She looked back at Henry, unable to miss the familiar hope in his eyes. Hope that she would believe him.  But hadn't she spent almost her entire time in this town in denial? He was right the first time, maybe he was onto something now.  

 _No_.

“Are you _sure_ the curse didn't do something to your memories?” she asked.

Henry let out a groan as he pushed himself off the couch. “I'll prove it,” he said.

Emma followed him back into the kitchen, making sure to keep her distance from Hook. No matter what Henry believed to be true, Hook was still chained to the fridge, and still clearly angry about it.

“Give me your phone,” Henry demanded. She would have called him on it, but figured getting answers was a higher priority than scolding her son for barking orders at her.

Henry browsed for a moment, Hook peering over his shoulder. then found what he was looking for.

“Bloody hell,” Hook murmured. He grabbed for the phone, but thanks to his restraints, Emma got to it first. Her jaw dropped as she tried to process it.

“How…” she whispered. She looked up at Hook, who seemed just as bewildered as she. The picture was of the two of them, she in a pretty pink dress, and he, in modern attire, much like what he was wearing now. They looked … happy, if their smiles were anything to go by, and Hook was handing her a beautiful red rose.  “Impossible,” she said, to no one in particular. “It has to be photoshopped.”

“Photo-what?” She heard Hook ask at the same time Henry groaned.  She moved closer to Hook, who seemed less murderous now that he was confused.

If Henry was right, and the Evil Queen was to blame, then this was all her doing. Emma frowned at the thought. It didn’t make sense at all. Wasn’t the point of a curse to make people miserable? “We look happy?” she said, daring to look him in the eye. Amidst the confusion, she saw the same thing in him that she was feeling: hope. A tiny flicker of hope that maybe Henry wasn’t completely off his rocker, and that maybe they had found some sort of happiness along the way.

“It’s a trick, Swan,” Hook said, sounding defeated. “Magical nonsense…”

“Yeah…” she agreed, much to Henry’s dismay, “you’re probably right.”

“Guys-”

Hook didn’t give Henry a chance to speak, he was already picking everything apart. “I’ve had no reason to smile like that in centuries,” he commented, “and the man in the picture, he’s got two hands.” He held up his hook, as if they’d forgotten.

“Right…” Emma stepped away, feeling more than a little heartbroken, though she couldn’t figure out exactly why. She made her way to the couch again, in a daze, vaguely aware that Henry was still in the other room talking to Hook.

She sat down, and thumbed through the supposed memories, trying to make sense of it all. Her parents were in some photos, and there were several of a baby she didn’t recognize. Then, she landed on a picture of _them._ Hook was kissing her on the cheek while she made a face in a selfie shot. Just like the picture Henry had shown them, they both looked so incredibly happy that it sent a pang of helpless longing through her heart before she had a moment to tell herself how absurd it was to want that,  with _him_ of all people.  

The photos were a mix of her parents, Henry, and more Hook. She smiled when she saw a picture of him bundled up under the covers on the bed, looking sleepily disheveled, and perhaps a bit irritated that someone had woken him up for a morning picture. Her heart skipped a beat when the next picture showed him, asleep on the couch… with the mysterious baby napping on his chest.

“Kid?” she called out, “is there a baby I should be worried about?”

“He’s probably with Grandma and Grandpa,” Henry called back.

 _He?_ “So, he’s not mine?”

“No, he’s your brother. Neal,” Henry informed her.

Whether or not it was a relief or a disappointment, she couldn’t be sure, but the one thing she was certain of, was that it was all fake. The pirate in her kitchen was just that, a one-time ally that she betrayed. A pirate who was still very angry with her.

She didn’t have a house, or a pirate boyfriend, or an infant brother… Neal.  Why the hell would they name him...

 _This isn’t real,_ she reminded herself as she shut off the phone. It hurt to think that all those happy memories were nothing but forgeries, but she had to face reality. The pirate chained to her fridge didn’t want her. He wanted revenge,  and to forget that was dangerous.

Her heart still ached when she thought about turning him loose to meet his doom, but he seemed determined to go down that path no matter what she did. With a sigh of resignation, she looked up, and tried not to think about how right he looked, standing in her kitchen, talking to her son.

* * *

“Why the devil does it get so cold whenever I try to escape from the silver box?”  

Henry glanced over at Killian who had pulled the fridge door open in his attempts to escape the cuffs.  

“Maybe if you stop trying to escape, it won’t get so cold.” Henry replied helpfully grabbing a pop tart from the cabinet. He sat down at the table and opened up the package,  offering one to Hook with a smile that only seemed to agitate the pirate further.  “It’s cold because there’s an ice fairy trapped inside,”  Henry informed him somberly.

Killian glanced up in sudden interest and confusion,  “An ice fairy?”

“Oh yes.   And trust me,  you don’t want to let her out.  See when you pull that silver door open it gets cold because the ice fairy is trying to escape. If you leave it open for long enough… she’ll be released into this world setting off an eternal winter.”  

Killian stepped back and the fridge door closed again.  

“Why do you want to escape so badly anyway?  Aren’t you just a little curious if I’m telling the truth? Seriously, what good would it do to lie to you about something like this?”   

“To distract me from my purpose.  And it would certainly benefit the one that I intend to skin.”

“So Rumplestiltskin could do anything to you, and you think he made you a happy life with a family you care about?”  

“He’s given me a glimpse of something that he took from me long ago.  A future.”  

“Kid?” Emma’s voice called out from the other room. “Is there a baby I should be worried about?”  

“He’s probably with Grandma and Grandpa,” Henry replied, smiling a bit at the sudden worry in her voice.

“So... he’s not mine?”

“No, he’s your brother. Neal,” Henry called, turning back to Hook.   “Look I know this all seems crazy to you but we can’t just let you go off and kill my grandfather.”

“Your grandfather? I may be a pirate, but I am unlikely to murder without cause.”

“Yes,  my grandfather.” Henry looked at him for a moment as though trying to decide if he should continue before he finally spoke. “You knew my father.  You knew him as Baelfire didn’t you?”  Killian stopped short and Henry pressed on,  hoping that maybe he could get through to him on this subject. “He died.  He died trying to defeat a wicked villain whose heart was set on vengeance and jealousy.  It does nothing but hurt people.  Look, I know Rumplestiltskin has done bad things but I’ve lost too many people already.   I don’t want to lose anyone else in my family.”

For a moment Henry was sure that he had gotten through to Killian.  His mouth gaped open and a single word “How-”  then suddenly he shook his head and his eyes went hard. “Actually no.  I do not want to hear whatever farce of a tale the crocodile has contrived to save his skin. Save your tall tales for someone who gives a damn.”  

“Killian-” Henry started but Hook shook his head straining at the end from his cuffs again to glare at the boy.  

“What did he offer you to keep me from him, hmm? Money,  power?  Or are you simply a fool who believes the good will of the dark one will save you from-”  

“Hey!”  Emma’s voice broke in as she stalked into the kitchen. She took one look at Henry’s tear filled eyes and something in her snapped.  She turned to Henry ushering him from the room with a whispered, “I’m sorry, Kid, I’ll be right there.  Just let me handle this.”

When she turned back to Hook it was with a fire blazing in her eyes.  “Who the hell do you think you are?  I can understand your anger with Gold, but you leave my kid out of it. He doesn’t deserve your crap.”

“Clearly you’re new to taking captives, _love_ ,” Hook sneered,  “so allow me to be of some assistance…  If you wish for a house guest to be _polite_ ,  you do not chain them up in your _galley_.”  

“You know what?”  Emma pulled something from her pocket and approached him with an air of frustration. She unlocked the handcuffs with a sharp click and they fell with a clatter against the fridge.  “Fine. Go ahead. Run off and get yourself killed.”  

Hook bowed to her mockingly as he left the room,  “as the lady insists.”

She clenched her fists, trying to control her temper as the pirate disappeared out the front door and vanished from her sight.  

“Are you okay, Henry?” Emma called, moving into the next room  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left you alone with him,  even for a minute-”

“No _I’m_ sorry.  I thought I could reason with him.”

“Yeah well he’s gone now.”

“Mom?” Henry asked quietly- “did you just… Oh mom, that’s exactly what he was trying to get you to do.”

Her phone rang and she grabbed it, seeing David’s number on the screen.  

“Hello?”

“Emma… it’s David,   I just… there’s something strange… are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.  Henry’s here too,”  Henry grabbed the phone.  “Hey grandpa-”

“You remember?” David asked in surprise. “Snow must have kissed me awake earlier and I thought everything was fine but-”

“I so don’t want to hear about th-” Emma started but Henry grabbed the phone from her.

“ _You remember?”_ Henry asked. “Mom doesn’t remember anything after getting back from the Enchanted Forest with Grandma. There’s another curse.”

“Yeah I figured that out when I left for work and everyone was acting insane.”

“So how do _you_ remember?” Henry asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe I woke up just after the curse hit? I’m already on my way over.”

“Hey Gramps, if you see Hook on your way over you have to stop him.” Henry said,  “He doesn’t remember anything.  He’s going after Gold.”

“Damn,  I’m almost there,  I haven’t seen him. I’ll see you both soon.”

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and Emma opened it for David who immediately clasped her in a tight hug.  She stiffened for a moment then relaxed as David kissed her forehead.  

“I know you don’t remember everything we’ve been through Emma, but you’ve spent enough time alone.  I don’t want you to waste another minute with any doubt of how much you mean to your mother and I.”

Emma gaped but David just smiled at her then turned to Henry,  “Does anyone else remember?”

“No,  I don’t think so.  Just us,  and the Evil Queen.”

“Alright, Henry I think you need to speak with Regina.  See if you can make her remember anything.  If the Evil Queen is involved in this we may need all the extra magical firepower we can get.  I’ll go with you.  Emma,  you need to find Hook and stop him before he gets himself killed again.”

“Again?”

“Yeah, we don’t have time for that story.  But if anyone can get through to him, Emma, it’s you.”  


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here it is folks, part two of two!

Storybrooke was by no means a large town, and Hook laughed when he saw the sign for Gold's Pawn Shop. So easy. After all these years. So easy. He pushed open the door and nearly laughed again at the sight before him. Rumplestiltskin, the crocodile… dusting his shop counter.

"I've been searching all over town for you," Hook drawled, "And here you are... bloody sign over your door and everything."

Rumplestiltskin looked up with a genial expression which faltered only slightly when he saw Killian. "And here I've been thinking people were avoiding my shop on purpose. Looks like when I bought that sign, I was just throwing my money away."

"Oh I assure you, your sign was most helpful. Now tell me, before you go, do you remember her name?"

The look on his face, to Killian's annoyance, was pure confusion."I'm not going anywhere. It's my shop. I don't know who you are or who you're looking for, but I hear the whole town's having memory problems lately. You'll be lucky if she remembers you."

"No, no I don't suppose she does remember me," he mused, "but I remember her, and I remember what you did to her." The pirate stepped forward and raised his hook which finally earned him a flicker of fear in the Dark One's eyes. "Perhaps I should remind you? Tell me, Dark One, which should I take first; your hand or your heart?"

"Dark one?" Rumplestiltskin had such a confused look of alarm on his face that Hook almost hesitated. "Whatever I did to this "her" you speak of, are you sure this is the path she would wish you to take? Seems to me you're on a very dark path yourself." Killian's hesitation evaporated in an instant and he moved closer, now separated from his query only by the width of the counter.

"If it weren't for you, I could ask her myself. Time's up crocodile-" Killian threw himself forward, burying his hook into the Crocodile's chest. He only had a moment to be shocked that the enchantment on his hook had not allowed him to take the Crocodile's heart, because there was a loud crack and suddenly he was looking up at the ceiling and he wasn't entirely certain why.

"You stabbed me!" Gold cried, pulling out the firearm that must have been hidden behind the counter and aiming it at the pirate. "Are you insane? Why… why am I unharmed?"

Killian raised his hook over his head in confusion, "The enchantment should have worked," he mumbled, "why didn't it-"

"What enchantment? Speak, or I'll lock the door and let you bleed out."

Killian pushed himself up and suddenly an intense burning sensation ripped through him and he faltered, falling back in surprise as he watched the blood beginning to pool under him. _Damn_. He pushed himself up again, and Rumplestiltskin stopped searching his own chest for a wound and pointed the gun at him.

"You still don't remember?" Killian taunted, "My poor crocodile, trapped in a world without your magic to hide behind. I'd prefer your heart as dust under my boots, but I'll take this too."

"My magic? I have magic? Is that why your hook couldn't harm me? Magic?"

"You _had_ magic." Killian struggled to his feet, watching in manic amusement as the crocodile pointed the gun at him, hands shaking and eyes wide and terrified. "Just finish it," Hook growled, "Do it, you black-hearted coward or I'll never stop hunting you."

"Killian, stop!" Emma's voice rang out from the door to the shop. Gold turned to face the new arrival, the gun moving with his gaze towards Emma. Hook dragged himself the rest of the way to his feet, one arm clenched over his abdomen as though to hold himself together. Gold turned the gun on Killian again and Emma ran forward. "Forget about Gold. Please. Killian, let's just go."

"If he so much as looks at me wrong again," Gold warned, "I swear-"

"He- He destroyed her," Killian said coldly, his eyes never leaving the Crocodile's. "She died in my arms and I couldn't- What kind of a man lets a monster like that live?"

"A good man." Emma insisted, giving him a watery smile when he finally looked at her. "I know it hurts, but do you really think she'd be happy watching you throw your life away? Come home with me. Please. You have people here who care about you."

The noise he made started as a laugh but it sent a shot of agony through his abdomen and he began to cough, each cough doubled him over until his muscles failed and he sank to his knees, tightening his grip on his stomach. When he finally got his breath back he'd gone white and his muscles trembled under her fingers.

"We both know I've no one left who cares for me," he whispered, sagging against her. "You have to go, love. If he remembers- you cannot be between me and him. I'm... I'm so tired, love-"

"Don't you dare give up. I care, and I'm not leaving you. So, you can either come back with me, or I will stay right here between you and him!"

"No!" The intensity of the pain that shot through him rivaled the wound itself and his next words seemed to come without his prompting. "Emma, I can't-" Confusion clouded his face for a moment but when he looked up at her again his eyes were clear and determined. "You're right, we have to go. We have to go now."

Emma glanced up at Gold nervously but he made no move to stop them as she helped Hook to his feet, half-dragging him out of the shop. She stopped just outside the shop, looking around in sudden confusion. _What now? Does this town even have a 911?_

"We have to get you out of sight. If Gold remembers, he might try to finish what he started." She glanced toward him, his jaw was set and his face pale but his eyes were still focused on her when she looked at him. She paused just long enough to text David and then turned back to Killian, "Granny's is closest, we can get you into a room, hide you until we can get help? Can you walk that far?"

"I've never been one to turn down the invitation of a beautiful-" he hissed in pain as she shifted, settling his right arm over her shoulder, his left still clutching tight to his wound.

The short distance to Granny's had never seemed so long, but in some unknown corner of her mind she knew without a doubt they wouldn't be safe until they were out of sight of Gold's shop. _One step at a time, just one more step._

When they finally arrived she kicked the door open unceremoniously and the cheerful tinkle of the bell was immediately drowned out by the gasps and cries of the inhabitants. She could feel him relax slightly as the door shut behind them and his head dropped towards her shoulder for a moment.

"As pleasant as this walking tour of your town is I- I think I might need a place to sit- Just for a... for a-" Suddenly he was too relaxed, the arm around her shoulder became heavier and he dropped, pulling her down with him when she tried to catch him.

"No- no- no- Killian, don't you dare-"

A column of smoke materialized in front of them and a woman appeared. She looked like Regina but gaudy dress and a malevolent glimmer in her eyes told Emma that this was not the Regina that she knew. The Evil Queen then.

"Oh no, is your pirate hurt?" The Evil Queen prodded his limp form with the heel of her boot experimentally. "Poor thing, I do think he's going to die."

"Do not touch him or I will end you."

She laughed cheerfully, "You can try dear, but that won't save precious Killian, will it?"

The bell tinkled again as some of the diner's patrons decided to make a run for it, but as everyone else ran out, someone else ran in.

"What happened?" David asked quietly, kneeling beside her, eyeing the Evil Queen warily.

"He attacked Gold… Gold shot him."

"Is this really what you wanted?" David growled at the Queen.

"What I want is Henry all to myself. Watching you all fall one… by… one, that's just added fun." She settled on the edge of a table to watch, her eyes gleeful.

"And this… you think THIS is going to get you Henry?"

"It'll build character," the Evil Queen retorted.

David rose and stalked to the counter where Granny had pulled out a pile of folded cloth napkins and handed them to him. He gave them to Emma who was already pulling up Hook's shirt in search of the entry wound. She gently cleaned away the blood until she found it, a deceptively small wound that nonetheless was spilling his life onto the floor with every beat of his heart.

"How's he doing, Savior?" the Evil Queen taunted. "It's so hard to tell unless he's screaming. Let me help-" she flicked her fingers and Killian's eyes fluttered open again.

Emma winced, "I really wish you hadn't woken up just yet" she told him. A look of confusion settled onto his face for a moment before she pressed the cloth to the wound hard and he let out a strangled cry.

"That's better!" the Evil Queen said joyously.

In an instant David pulled a blade from a sheath on Killian's belt and threw it across the diner at their malevolent observer. The Evil Queen vanished, the last look on her face more annoyance than anything else.

"I need a tablecloth or something to wrap it-" David told Granny, hardly missing a beat.

"Does this look like a tablecloth kind of place?" the she-wolf replied with eyebrows raised.

"Sheets then?"

She nodded and hurried off to find some and David turned back to Emma. "Emma have you considered what Henry said to you earlier? About true love's kiss?"

"Are you _serious_? He's bleeding all over the place. He doesn't need a kiss, he needs medical attention!"

"Now, love, really…" Killian interjected, his voice strained, but making a valiant attempt at levity. "Let's not be rash-"

"What he _needs_ is magic," David replied, ignoring the pirate's attempt at a smirk.

"Isn't that Henry's job?" Emma asked. "If he can get Regina to believe, maybe her magic-" She pulled out her phone and dialled Henry, the few seconds of ringing seeming to take an eternity. _"Hey Mom, I'm with Regina-"_

"Henry, I need you to hurry. Killian is hurt. It's bad. If you can't get Regina to remember, I don't think- Henry, I need magic."

_"I'm trying!"_

"Okay, I know you are, I'm just… I have to go."

She could hear David on the phone too, yelling at someone ("What do you mean you don't _remember_ who the doctors are? Someone find me a damn ambulance and get me Whale. _Victor_." ) He turned to her after he hung up. "How likely is Gold to come through that door and try to finish him off?"

"I don't know," Emma admitted nervously. He hadn't looked inclined to follow them but she couldn't be certain.

David winced. "I have no idea if there's an ambulance coming, the memory curse has everyone confused at the hospital too." He glanced at the back wall of Granny's where another door led to the rooms. "If we could get him past one more set of doors we could clean up this mess, maybe stand a chance of lying about where he is if Gold comes for him."

Killian's hand moved onto hers where she held the cloth tight, "I got it, love, give me a boost?" Emma nodded.

David knelt on Hook's other side, "This is gonna hurt like hell, pirate, you sure you're up for it?" he asked, offering him a piece of clean cloth. Killian took the cloth by way of answer, biting down on it and nodding.

"On 3. One, two-" They lifted Killian and half walked half dragged him out of the doorway of Granny's back towards the rooms, nearly colliding with Granny as she brought a stack of sheets from the back.

By the time they had laid him on the bed the movement had exacerbated the wound and the cloth napkins were a bright scarlet. David was already cutting Granny's sheets into strips and Emma looked up at Killian's face, still tensed and biting down hard on the cloth. She reached for him on instinct, her fingers brushing his cheek and jaw and combing back into his hair until he relaxed. She took the cloth from his mouth and he nodded a terse thanks. She shifted to the head of the bed while David wrapped fresh bandages around the wound, never ceasing her gentle strokes into his hair.

"That's the best I can do for now," David told them as he tied the last layer of bandages tight.

"Thanks, mate," Killian said, his voice coming out with an unexpected tremor. David picked up a blanket that had been shoved aside as they tried to get his wound wrapped and draped it over him, to ward off the chill that no one else in the room could feel.

"How long is that gonna give us?" Emma asked worriedly and David shook his head.

"Not long. I'm gonna… I'm gonna clean up the mess outside. Won't do me much good saying I don't know where he is if there's a bloody trail leading right to you."

"Thanks Dad." The door clicked shut quietly behind him and a heavy silence settled over the room.

"Thought he'd never bloody leave," Killian said, his voice strained but with a smirk in his eyes.

"What?"

"Well if you mean to kiss me, now would be the-" she shifted and pressed her lips to his, her fingers still tracing their gentle course through his hair.

"That was-"

"Not a curse-breaker, apparently," she said and he could have sworn there was a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Magic is a tricky thing under the best of circumstances, Swan. Bouts of amnesia are hardly the best of circumstances."

"I think we might have been happy," she said suddenly, but the look in her eyes was not happiness. It was something far closer to fear.

"I think so too," he admitted quietly.

She looked up, "Then why did you go after him? Why did you do this if you thought there was a chance-"

"Because I don't deserve a second chance," he said, reaching up and brushing her cheek with his thumb. "I've done such horrors, love, in the name of vengeance. In the name of the woman I loved. I couldn't protect her, I couldn't avenge her. I thought if I could at least rid the world of that monster… It would have been worth something. I would have been worth something."

"And if we were happy. Wouldn't that have been worth something?"

"Aye," he smiled and his hand fell back down to the bed, "It would have."

"Killian?" his eyes were fluttering shut and she shot up, pulling back the blanket and staring in horror at the bandages which David had so carefully tended only a few minutes earlier. They were already red. "No. No, no, no- DAVID!"

"Shh- It's alright, love" his voice was barely audible and she knelt next to him again, her hands shakily pressing more sheets against the red stain of his bandages. "You'll be all right. Come on, Killian. Hang on just a little bit longer…" Tears were coursing freely down her cheeks now but he didn't open his eyes again. She searched for a pulse and found one, thready and weak but still there, his heart still fighting for life even as the rest of his body yielded to the darkness.

The door slammed open and David entered, followed by Regina and Henry. Hope surged through her, so powerfully she thought she might fall over.

"You remember?" she called to Regina desperately.

"I'm the mayor, not a doctor," Regina retorted her eyes widening at the messy scene before her. "What do you expect me to do, pass a bylaw forbidding death?"

Her heart sank and Henry turned back to Regina desperately, "You have to believe me. You can stop this!"

"Damnit, pirate-" David grumbled, hurrying to Emma's side and wrapping his arms around her. "Emma. I need you to listen to me. That feeling- Emma, I know that feeling. It's like your heart is being ripped in half. Because it is. I know you don't understand why you feel it; but you don't have to. Take the fear and the anger and the agony and use it. Use it to save him."

She'd seen Regina use magic before, she used her hands… Emma's hands were shaking and stained with blood but she reached for him, held them above the red bandages and tried to follow her father's advice. But her breaths were coming in tight panicked gasps and nothing was happening- _of course nothing is happening._

"Emma, I need you to relax." David murmured in her ear, rubbing calming circles on her back, "Don't try to do magic. Don't think, just feel. You know what to do. If you don't trust yourself, trust me. You know what to do, just let yourself do it."

She closed her eyes and focused on her father's voice, then on Killian. On his voice, on the way he'd tried to calm her even as he lay bleeding on the ground. On his touch, the press of his lips and the roughness of his stubble under her fingers. On his eyes, the way they always seemed to see right through her- _What she wouldn't give to see his stupid smirking eyes once more..._

Emma felt David let out a sigh and sink to the bed, his hands falling from her shoulders and her heart clenched. She kept her eyes shut... As long as she didn't open her eyes she didn't have to know that she had failed, that he was never coming back-

"Open your eyes, Emma," David prodded gently, "It's all right, open your eyes." She shook her head, a tear leaking out from beneath her closed lashes.

"Swan?" Her eyes snapped open and her heart leapt into her throat. "You did it."

"What the hell was that?" Regina was saying, but Emma ignored her, more tackling Killian than hugging him and he winced. Apparently not knowing what she was doing had left him a bit worse for wear, but she didn't care. He was alive.

Regina was leaning against the wall in shock and Henry took her hand, "I told you I'm not crazy. Magic is real."

"If what you're saying is true than this- all of this. The… the curse, it's my fault. I really am the… the villain of your storybook?"

"You're not a villain," Henry said, "you're my mom."

"But this … this evil queen. She's free because of something I did?"

"And she's not going to be very happy when she discovers that Emma has her magic back," David broke in.

"So now that my magic is back, we can break this curse, get our memories back?" Emma asked.

"It's a little more complicated than that," David said.

"I could fix this-" Regina said softly and everyone turned to her. She shook her head and looked up at them. The Evil Queen. If she's a part of me, if I'm a part of her. If I- If I were gone, wouldn't she-"

Henry's eyes widened in sudden alarm and he shook his head, "we're not going to do that, Mom."

"So what do we do?" Emma asked. "If we can't defeat the Evil Queen without killing Regina and true love's kiss won't work on memory curses, how do we fix this?"

"It really is quite the mess you're in, isn't it?" the Evil Queen appeared with a delighted grin on her face. David stepped forward and Emma shot to her feet, Killian following a bit slower, trying to shred the excess bandages still weighing him down. "But this-" she waved her hands towards Emma dismissively. "I can't have this. You with magic, amateur as it may be, the prince with his memories. A fireball appeared in the Evil Queen's hand and she turned to David. "I'm so sorry, your majesty, looks like your princess will never wake up now."

The fireball flew and several things happened so quickly that Emma wasn't certain exactly how they happened. Henry was closest to David and she watched in horror as he moved between the Evil Queen and David. She'd barely had time to move before flames engulfed her vision and then Regina was on the floor, her clothes smoking with Henry kneeling beside her, his eyes red and tears streaking down his face.

Regina's eyes were closed but there was a small smile on her lips as she squeezed Henry's hand. "I win," she murmured defiantly.

Henry glared up at the Evil Queen who had crumpled when Regina fell. "If she dies, you die," Henry cried to her.

"I won't go back," the Evil Queen snarled. "I won't!"

"Please," Henry begged, turning back to Regina, "Mom?" Regina opened her eyes weakly to look at Henry.

"What if I'm not strong enough? Henry, what if I'm not strong enough to not be her?"

"You are. Trust yourself. Trust me. Please."

With the smallest of nods, Regina reached out towards the Evil Queen. There was a flash of light then the Evil Queen was gone and Regina shot up, a look of horror and confusion in her eyes for a moment before her face composed itself. Henry hugged her tight and she kissed the top of his head. Her magic and memories returned, she released the spell the Evil Queen had cast with a flick of her fingers.

All eyes turned to Emma and Killian to see if it had worked. For a moment nothing happened, then a gradual look of confusion and surprise crossed over their faces. Then in the same moment they turned to each other and Emma had buried her face into his shoulder and he was clinging to her with such a desperate strength that it made David feel the need to look away and give them some privacy.

"I'm sorry," Killian whispered in her ear. "Emma, I'm so sorry."

"Me too."

She suddenly pulled away, her hands reaching for the bloody bandages still pasted to him but he pulled her closer again, refusing to allow even a moment's parting.

"Later," he murmured. When they finally parted it was only because Henry grew tired of waiting, tackling them both in a group hug. They laughed and turned to him, Emma joyously, but Killian with guilt in his eyes.

"Lad, I'm-"

"You don't need to apologize. I'm just glad you're okay."

She pulled away to talk to Henry and David glanced over from where he was talking to Regina in the doorway. She nodded at Hook and took her leave and David moved to his bedside.

"Anyone ever told you you're a pain in the ass, pirate?" David grumbled with a small smile, but he leaned in and hugged Killian tight for a moment regardless.

"You saved my life," Killian said.

"Emma saved your life."

"Aye but you gave me long enough for Emma to find her magic again. You helped her to find it. You were there for her when I fell. And now I know it's not the first time. Thank you."

"You know, I'm pretty damn tired of holding my daughter over your dead body, Hook. Would you just, knock it the hell off?"

"I intend to," Killian laughed and then turned to David suddenly serious. "I thought about waiting for her to ask. Didn't want to spook her, you know. But I think… I think I'd very much like your blessing to-"

"Yes."

"Aren't you even going to let me finish the question?" Killian asked, attempting to sound annoyed but thoroughly incapable of hiding his smile.

"I hope you know what you're getting yourself into. Snow's been planning for this for six- " he trailed off suddenly

"David?" Killian asked.

"Snow… The Evil Queen is gone, that means the curse- Killian, would you tell Emma-"

"Get out of here," Killian said, giving David a small nod to break the inertia. And then David was running, back to the apartment where Snow was probably already looking for him.

Emma sank back down onto the bed, Killian sat up, and moved over, leaning against the wall. She kicked up her feet up and leaned into his side, her head falling against his shoulder as he closed his arms around her.

"I am so tired of memory curses," she sighed and he pulled her closer, wincing a bit when she shifted. She held up her left hand over him and he relaxed feeling the rest of his injury melt away.

"Thanks love…" he paused, thinking. "You know, I don't think I've ever been shot before."

Emma rolled her eyes, "tell me you don't have a checklist."

"Not exactly," he said, "but you live a couple centuries and the list of things that have not happened to you grows rather short."

Emma chuckled, "So what else is on your checklist, Killian?"

He smiled and took her hand, kissing it lightly. "I'd like to marry the woman I love, if she'd be amenable."

Emma froze for a moment and then laughed. "Here, Killian? You're still covered in blood and the ring is still in your sock drawer." He raised his eyebrows and she turned, kissing him lightly. "Yeah, Killian. She's amenable."


End file.
